Whichever way Meng Junzi looked at Emperor Xia, he found him irritating. When you died, kid, you didn't say a single word. How come you never shut your mouth once you came back to life?
Before Meng Junzi could say anything, a loud clatter rang out as the door was pushed open.
A young man carrying a hoe over his shoulder walked in with a dignified, imposing air. A person was tied to the other end of the hoe, dangling and swaying back and forth.
"Haha, things over in Yuzhou are all wrapped up! Junzi, how did it go on your end?"
Meng Junzi glared at the hoe-carrying youth. Did this grandfather and grandson collude with each other or something, taking turns interrogating him?
"Piss off. What's there to brag about beating a mere half-immortal?"
Seeing Meng Junzi blasted raw and bloody from the immortal's self-detonation, the hoe-carrying youth grinned from ear to ear and hurried forward to offer his concern.
"Oh my, Junzi, what happened to you? I remember you bragging before that taking down a mere Great Yu Imperial Preceptor would be as easy as turning your hand."
Meng Junzi waved his hand dismissively. "Bah, it only looks serious. They're just minor injuries, doesn't hurt a bit. Old Jiang, you're way too easy to fool."
The hoe-carrying youth poked Meng Junzi's wound. "Doesn't hurt?"
An immortal's self-detonation could damage even an immortal soul; that poke hurt so much Meng Junzi nearly cried out.
Yet he couldn't lose face in front of Jiang Ping'an. Swallowing his cries, his face contorted: "Doesn't hurt."
"Really doesn't hurt?"
The hoe-carrying youth gave another hard poke, making Meng Junzi grimace in agony and lash out with a kick at Jiang Ping'an.
"Jiang Ping'an, that's enough!"
Jiang Ping'an took a tumble from the kick, only to stroll right back as if nothing had happened.
"You were the one who said it didn't hurt."
The two immortals glared at each other.
Lu Yang squatted down and tilted his head to look at the captive's face. He had never seen a portrait of him, so he had no idea which era of Great Yu this half-immortal belonged to.
The half-immortal was entirely devoid of life. Lu Yang guessed that upon reaching Yuzhou, Jiang Ping'an had held nothing back and searched his soul right away in order to obtain intelligence immediately.
Only then did the hoe-carrying youth notice Lu Yang. "You must be Fellow Daoist Yun Zhi's lucky ch—Little Junior Brother Lu Yang, right?"
"This junior greets Senior Jiang Ping'an."
The hoe-carrying youth was naturally Jiang Ping'an.
Jiang Ping'an looked Lu Yang up and down. Should he say Lu Yang truly lived up to being personally raised by Yun Zhi? His foundation was absurdly solid; even with Jiang Ping'an's discerning eye, not a single flaw could be found.
"Quite a fine young talent! Any interest in marrying into our Jiang family?"
"Our Jiang family's seven little princesses are all dazzling beauties, especially the seventh. She's remarkably pretty, and her age and cultivation are similar to yours. As it happens, she's grown up listening to stories about you and is quite fond of you!"
Jiang Ping'an was referring to Emperor Xia's seventh daughter, the youngest princess of the Jiang family.
Meng Junzi thrust out an arm to push Jiang Ping'an back. "Hey, hey, hey, don't try to poach him! Our Meng Family already made an agreement with him—he's marrying into our Meng Family in the future."
Jiang Ping'an and Meng Junzi's eyes gleamed as they looked at Lu Yang.
This was Lu Yang, whom Yun Zhi had evaluated as possessing the makings of an immortal. Yun Zhi's assessment was nothing like the outside world's flattery of prodigies; it meant Lu Yang had an immense probability of becoming an immortal in the future.
Why not rope him in while they still had the chance?
Being valued so highly by two immortals put tremendous pressure on Lu Yang, leaving him at a loss for how to answer.
The door was gently pushed open. Eldest Senior Sister, who had parted from them not long ago, returned, dragging Guan Shanhai along, who had also parted from them not long ago.
"I've captured the man."
"What are you two Daoists trying to do, sandwiching my Little Junior Brother between you?"
"Hahaha, nothing, nothing! We just noticed this kid has a pretty sturdy frame."
Guan Shanhai's left cheek was bruised a purplish red, and his left eye was entirely bloodshot. Based on Lu Yang's experience, he guessed it was from an external impact causing the eye to fill with blood.
Yun Zhi had sealed Guan Shanhai's six senses, leaving him oblivious to the outside world.
Within this tiny room, eminent figures were gathered together, each with an extraordinary background: there was the invincible Yun Zhi; the Immortal Fairy, head of the Five Ancient Celestials; Meng Junzi, who had nearly become the founding emperor; Jiang Ping'an, founder of Great Xia; Guan Shanhai, who had kept Great Yu standing for a hundred thousand years; the Emperor of Great Xia, hailed as a peerless emperor for the ages; and Lu Yang.
"What should we do with Guan Shanhai?" Jiang Ping'an asked. Should they search his soul directly, or lock him up and slowly torture him to extract intelligence?
"Lock him away on my sect's Prison Peak. It will be the perfect chance to reunite the Great Yu gang."
Jiang Ping'an and Meng Junzi were unwilling. They had toiled away for ages; missing out on the meat was one thing, but they couldn't be left without even a sip of broth.
Although they were somewhat afraid of Yun Zhi, they still plucked up the courage to argue, "That wouldn't be appropriate, would it? Your Prison Peak has no immortals—how could it hold him? If you ask us, it would be better to keep him in our Imperial City. With the two of us watching him, it's guaranteed to be foolproof!"
"With me around, Prison Peak can hold him," Yun Zhi said calmly, exuding confidence.
In truth, none of them really wanted to search his soul directly.
Searching his soul would destroy Guan Shanhai's immortal soul.
That was an immortal soul! No one had ever used an immortal soul and an immortal body for artifact crafting. What kind of terrifying power would an immortal artifact possess if forged from those two things, endowed with an artifact spirit?
A pinnacle immortal artifact unprecedented in history!
Even Immortal Ying Tian hadn't enjoyed such luxury when forging immortal artifacts, having at most snapped off a branch from Immortal Suiyue as material—which was how the shaft of the Heaven Splitting Axe had been made.
Yun Zhi didn't want to hog all the spoils either. After all, Jiang Ping'an and Meng Junzi had contributed greatly to capturing Guan Shanhai; she had merely handled the clean-up work. By all rights and reason, both of them deserved a share of the benefits.
Yet she couldn't just hand all of Guan Shanhai over to them either.
Just as the three reached an impasse, Lu Yang slowly raised his hand to speak.
"Um, well, I have an idea."
"Since there's only one Guan Shanhai and he's hard to split up, why don't we just divide his soul?"
Three ethereal souls and seven corporeal souls—ten parts in total, plenty for the three of them to divide.
The three thought about it and realized it was indeed a good idea.
Given Guan Shanhai's temperament, he would never yield information easily. Splitting his three ethereal souls and seven corporeal souls would weaken his willpower, making it possible for him to confess under intimidation, bribery, and severe torture.
"What a great idea!"
The more Meng Junzi and Jiang Ping'an looked at Lu Yang, the more pleased they were. His talent was of the highest caliber, and who would have thought his moral character was equally impeccable!
After some discussion, the three agreed that Jiang Ping'an and Meng Junzi would take the seven corporeal souls and the immortal body, while Yun Zhi would take the three ethereal souls, the Dao fruit, and Lu Yang.
"Right, that brat Meng Jingzhou won't be heading back for now!" Meng Junzi called out. He had decided to give this outstanding descendant some proper guidance. Of all his descendants, only Meng Jingzhou had talent closest to his own. With proper instruction, he might even surpass him in the future.
Previously, he couldn't instruct him because he couldn't reveal his identity or cultivation base, but now there was nothing to fear.
Lu Yang felt Old Meng had incredible luck to receive instruction from an immortal ancestor. Looking at himself... it seemed he also had an immortal instructing him.
Strange, why hadn't it ever felt that way?
Man Gu was also staying behind in the Imperial City for the time being. It was his first time here, and within less than an hour of arriving, he had run into an immortal battle. Now that the battle had ended, he definitely wanted to spend some time in the Imperial City.
On the flight back, Lu Yang took out a wooden box.
"Eldest Senior Sister, now that the Imperial City matter is settled, I'm returning the immortal peach to you."
Yun Zhi shook her head. "This was always meant for you."
There was only one immortal peach, and Lu Yang couldn't bring himself to keep it all to himself. This was an extraordinarily rare immortal treasure that no one had tasted since ancient times; if he ate it, Eldest Senior Sister would never get to taste it.
"How about this: we split the immortal peach in two, half for each of us?"
How could Yun Zhi not know what Lu Yang was thinking? At the thought, a rare trace of embarrassment appeared on her face.
"All right, half for each of us, then."
At worst, she could find an excuse later to procure a few more immortal peaches so her Little Junior Brother could eat his fill.
Lu Yang and Yun Zhi split the immortal peach, leaving only the Immortal Fairy in the spiritual space staring on with eager, covetous eyes.
According to unofficial histories, before the Second Bean Emperor and Third Bean Emperor ascended the throne, they chanced upon an immortal peach that prolonged life and increased longevity, savoring it leisurely above the clouds while Her Majesty could only watch with a watering mouth, unable to partake in even a single bite. Truly, an utter flouting of imperial grace and an act of high treason!
Chapter 958